Review of Bonjour America

Blogger (site in French) Cyrille “Vinvin” de Lasteyrie began his vlog (site in English) in February 2006, finished his first season of 29 episodes in early July of the same year, and began his second season four months later. He’s fluent in English, lives in Paris, and explains his interest in America is due to allegedly being the great-great-grandson of General Lafayette.  If you’re American and you don’t know the importance of General Lafayette, then you are the exact target demographic for Cyrille’s explanatory babblings about French culture.

Most episodes last around 10 minutes or less and generally consist of Cyrille – or one of his alter egos – wearing wigs and going berserk over all things American and European. Most of the footage of Cyrille is shot in front of a simple backdrop or at home, and is cut together with scenes and interviews from around Paris. Some episodes explain abstract surrealism

, others discuss soccer or the existence of Happy Meal toys from French McDonald’s, and more answer age-old questions like, “are the French really dirty?” But regardless of the video’s subject matter, all episodes involve at least one wig or wacky hat and, although funny and informative, are most entertaining simply because Cyrille is a little bit crazy.   Although not regularly updated, his English blog can also provide some additional commentary about the site.

The best shows are the light-hearted, informative explanations of French society. For example, his two–part French political map is detailed and weirdly comical. It explains the electoral process, political parties and their ideological foundations, and popular figures from the past and the present with the help of a whiteboard and, of course, a funny hat.